


Clean wounds

by roooose



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/F, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, Injury, Light Angst, Nadia Route Spoilers (The Arcana), Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 21:55:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29267592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roooose/pseuds/roooose
Summary: Nadia cleans The Apprentice's wounds, physical and mental. They need help. Both of them. A lot of it.
Relationships: Apprentice/Nadia (The Arcana)
Kudos: 12





	Clean wounds

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of the earlier fic called "Hello, my old apprentice". You can read this as a second part or seperate, you don't need to go read the other one but I would suggest you do it (not like I ever did when the author said to do it but-).
> 
> This is set in an AU where Nadia is a hero and the Apprentice is a villain, though that doesn't really matter here. I realised that it has some connection with Nadia's route, that's why there's a tag, though there isn't much of it.
> 
> Enjoy reading,  
> Lucian.

Sitting on a luxurious, wine red couch was the Apprentice and the Countess. They were in a place that the Apprentice called a house, but it seemed more like a grand mansion that someone wealthy could afford. Perhaps a well-off CEO of a company.

Nadia was opening a first-aid kit, her hasty movements blurring together to form a string of actions, going on and on. It seemed like she tried to keep her hands busy all the time, unable to stay still for a second, meanwhile the person in front of her watched her silently, their own foot tapping against the ground. They were trying to tell the woman that they'd be fine on their own, but she was having none of that. 

“Let me clean your wounds...” Nadia insisted, her hand on the Apprentice's cheek as she carefully wiped the bloody cuts on their face. The space between them was not large at all, but neither seemed to mind the close proximity.

The Apprentice had their eyes closed, breath at bait, trying their hardest not to wince every time the other dabbed their cuts with the sterile piece of cotton. Cleaning wasn't hard, seen as the blood had already dried, and with a wet cloth and steady hand, there was not one speck of red on their face by the end of it.

They sighed in relief, tension leaving their body once Nadia removed her hand from their cheek, knowing that they were safe and could finally breathe freely again without disturbing the other. At that, the woman chuckled, packing away all the medical equipment she used. They would have never thought air to be so precious until moments ago. 

Nadia had an urge to pull them into a hug, to put her hands around their stiff shoulders, to help them with whatever troubles they had, but just as her body started moving, she stopped in her tracks. They weren't familiar in that way, at least not anymore, and as she remembered that fact, she backed away. It's been years, a decade even, since either of them have seen each other, and for obvious reasons. She shouldn't even be here, not this close to them, not again.

With a shake of her head, the woman put her hand on the other's shoulder, moving a bit closer to them. She had to shake them a little as the Apprentice was locked in a trance, their eyes glued to the floor 'till the moment they had to look up. Without warning, she revealed the question that was gnawing at her for the past few hours, "Was it your idea? To fake your death, I mean." The question sounded weird coming out of her mouth. It felt to her like she was trying to get the answers by force, when there was always an option to decline, for them to not tell her.

It isn't easy to fake one's death, and so the woman was eager to know as to how the Apprentice managed to do it. They were young, younger than her at the time, so they must've gotten help from their guardians. But why would they do it? And at such a young age? Surely it had to be set up by someone else, they wouldn't have thought to do this on their own. Or would they? It was bizzare to think that the other was so small the last time she saw them. They looked little and fragile, they didn't even know what was in store for them.

Her thumb was rubbing circles on their exposed shoulder, and the clear worry in her expression said all the Apprentice needed to know. With a heavy exhale, they opened their mouth to begin telling their story. It was short, made shorter to not be such a pain. It was not the most joyful thing, so it was going to feel like a ride to hell and back, no matter how unlengthy it may be.

"No, but yes, in a way?" They responded, though it probably sounded more like they were questioning their own knowledge. Nadia stayed quiet, waiting for them to collect their thoughts and put their words into sentences. The start was strange, but she wasn't going to ask just yet.

"It was like this strange desire. A need to die. To start over." They continued, their hands clenching into fists, like they were trying to grasp something that couldn't be materialised. The feeling of their heavy heart beating in their chest was unpleasant and unwelcoming, but they ignored it, mustering up the courage to continue. It's been a while since the last time they told this story, but it seemed like this time was the most difficult.

"I just went and... Disappeared. When I woke up, I was on chilling white snow." They explained, their lip quivering a bit, the last words turning shaky and barely audible. They felt the frost bite again, just like the winter they were buried. It made them shiver, goosebumps spreading on their flesh. They didn't understand how they got in that forest. Even now they cannot find the right answer to it.

Nadia's eyes widened, brows rising, shock evident on her face. She was taken aback, her brain trying to process the new information without malfunctioning. She was reminded of it again, her memories flooding her with the day of their funeral. That day was depressing for everyone, not only for her. She was bawling her eyes out like a small child that found out that they lost their parents. Her eyes were puffy, cheeks pink from the sheer chilliness of the weather back then. It was so cold, it felt like her tears were hot and molten like lava, pouring down her face. She was struck the hardest. Not her parents, not the whole family, but her. They were everything in her life, and to just see them vanish and be presumed dead was devastating. She refused to stop looking for them. She even went out alone to find them, wherever they were, but it was no use. A month after their death, she stopped. Her eyes hurt too much from the crying and her body was too weak for it. It took her a long time to move on, to forget about their death. Once she finally let go of them, she forgot them.

As her memories slowly faded away, she felt a hand wiping away the tears that rolled down her face, and she glanced away, quickly moving her hand to wipe at the wet drops of sorrow. She knew that now was not the time for that, but her heart couldn't stop. She could hear it cry with every beat of it, thumping in her chest. It ached to remember, but she was pulled into it faster than she could react.

Nadia put her forehead on the side of their arm to hide her face, to mask the emotions that were spilling out without her permission. The Apprentice noticed the rise and fall of her chest, and they knew that they had to do something to sooth her and pull her back into reality.

The soft touch of their fingers on her hand woke her up temporarily, and she glanced up to meet their eyes. They squeezed her hand, biting their lip in the process, trying their best not to panic. They usually couldn't keep eye contact, but they had to stay. For Nadia.

They broke away first, their dark orbs falling on their joined hands, and with care, they pulled her into their arms. The woman's eyes widened slightly again, mouth agape, cheeks dusting over with a light shade of pink that was barely visible on her fairly dark skin as their hands settled on her back. Nadia was confused, to say the least. She eased into the embrace eventually, and she was glad that she let them initiate it. Her arms went around their torso, and she breathed in and out, her eyes fluttering close, her breathing falling into a steady rhythm, just like the beats of her heart.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until the Apprentice decided to break the silence, "I'm sorry for bringing back memories." They uttered, their voice brittle, an unswallable lump stuck in their throat, their chin coming to rest on the top of her head, hands caressing her back the same way she did earlier when they were on the ground.

The woman only smiled, shifting a bit closer to them after their unexpected comment. She was not disturbed at all, maybe a bit, but she was just glad to finally know the truth, however bitter it may be.

"It's fine. Now I know what happened." She responded as quickly as she could to not leave them anticipating, lifting her head up from their shoulder, a reassuring smile placed on her lips. She looked at them and she had to bite back a gasp. The Apprentice's eyes seemed to be gleaming with unshed tears, though they would not be spilled yet, not now, but not for a bad reason, either.

She put her hand on their cheek, just like she did when she was cleaning their cuts. They put their own hand over hers, and closed their eyes, a small cough that sounded more like a laugh, escaped their lips. Nadia only smiled wider at that, and patted their cheek, gradually moving away again.

"You need to rest now. The cuts won't heal themselves." She joked light-heartedly, the mood in the room beginning to change into something lighter. The Apprentice only nodded silently. It all had to end eventually, no matter how hard it may be for them.

"Stay at my place tonight."


End file.
